Teen sails into record books

Mike, 17, was battered by 60ft waves and hit by a series of technical problems on his nine-month, 30,000-mile journey.

But after crossing the finish line off The Lizard, Cornwall, escorted by Royal Navy guard ship HMS Mersey, his first demand was for steak and chips.

All that Mike had to eat on his 50ft yacht TotallyMoney.com was mushy freeze-dried food.

And the meat lover, who was 16 when he set off last November, said: “The freeze-dried stuff is good for keeping you full, but it can get tasteless after a while. I am looking forward to a big juicy steak with chips, onion rings, tomatoes, the lot.”

Mike, who previously became the youngest person to sail the Atlantic at the age of 14, will have an emotional reunion with dad Peter, 50, mum Heather, 51, and sister Fiona, 18, in Portsmouth tomorrow.

The lad from Potters Bar, Herts, said: “It’s beginning to sink in what I’ve done and I’m very proud of myself and the people who helped me make this happen.

“It does get lonely but that’s part of the challenge. You’ve got to have confidence in yourself that you will make it.”

His route took him south from Portsmouth across the Atlantic, round the Cape of Good Hope and between Australia and New Zealand.

He then headed north-east across the Pacific, through the Panama Canal and back across the Atlantic.

Dad Peter said: “The enormity and scale of what he has achieved is amazing.”